Systems and methods for dynamic event-based resource allocation in a radio access network

ABSTRACT

A system described herein may provide a technique for identifying User Equipment (“UEs”) associated with relevant users, such as “personal” UEs associated with first responders, based on the occurrence of an event, notifying the UEs of the event, and modifying radio access network (“RAN”) parameters such that the identified UEs are provided with priority access. Further, such modifications may be temporary (e.g., reverted after the event has occurred). In this manner, personal UEs associated with relevant users may be dynamically provided priority access in situations where such access may be beneficial, without needing to permanently provide the priority access to such UEs.

BACKGROUND

Radio access networks (“RANs”), such as Fifth Generation (“5G”)networks, Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) networks, or other types ofwireless networks, may have finite radio frequency (“RF”) resourcesavailable via which wireless communications may be sent and/or receivedto and/or from User Equipment (“UEs”), such as mobile telephones,Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices, and/or other types of devices. SomeRANs may dedicate sets of RF resources in the time and/or frequencydomains (e.g., Physical Resource Blocks (“PRBs”)) to certain UEs orgroups of UEs (e.g., UEs associated with first responder agencies, UEsassociated with universities, etc.), and/or for certain types of trafficor applications (e.g., voice traffic, streaming traffic, etc.).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example selection of a set of UEs based on thedetection of an event, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates example criteria based on which particular UEs may beselected based on the detection of an event, in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example notification that may be provided to aselected set of UEs based on the detection of an event, in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate an example modification to parametersassociated with a RAN based on the detection of an event and furtherbased on the selection of one or more UEs associated with the RAN, inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example priority elevation of one or more UEsand/or traffic types based on the detection of an event, in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process for providing elevated and/orprioritized service to a given set of UEs based on the detection of anevent, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example environment in which one or moreembodiments, described herein, may be implemented;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example arrangement of a RAN, in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example arrangement of an Open RAN (“O-RAN”)environment in which one or more embodiments, described herein, may beimplemented; and

FIG. 11 illustrates example components of one or more devices, inaccordance with one or more embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the sameor similar elements.

Some RANs may dedicate sets of RF resources in the time and/or frequencydomains (e.g., PRBs) to certain UEs or groups of UEs (e.g., UEsassociated with first responder agencies, universities, etc.), and/orfor certain types of traffic or applications (e.g., voice traffic,streaming traffic, etc.). For example, a particular RAN may include abase stations that provide wireless service to UEs within a coveragearea of the base station, and the base station may allocate a discreteset of resources (e.g., PRBs, processing resources, and/or otherresources) for UEs associated with a first responder agency. Such UEsmay include, for example, communications equipment installed in anemergency vehicle, communications equipment installed in a fire orpolice station, mobile phones issued to personnel associated with agiven agency, etc. Providing discrete resources to such UEs may ensurethat such UEs are able to receive wireless service (e.g., send and/orreceive traffic via the RAN) even in situations where the base stationis otherwise congested (e.g., other sets of resources are consumed byother UEs, such as UEs not associated with a first responder agency).

Situations may arise where a user associated with a particular group(e.g., a first responder agency) may need to be notified about an eventthat may be of particular relevance or interest to the user, while theuser is not in the vicinity of a dedicated UE associated with the group.For example, an off-duty firefighter may not have access tocommunications equipment installed in a firehouse or a fire truck, butmay be in possession of one or more “personal” UEs that are notnecessarily provided by or otherwise associated with the first responderagency, such as the firefighter's personal mobile telephone, tabletcomputer, vehicle infotainment system, etc. Since such UEs are“personal” UEs, they may not be registered with the first responderagency and thus the RAN may not provide service using the dedicatedresources normally provided to UEs associated with the first responderagency. In such situations, the personal UEs of the firefighter may notreceive prioritized wireless service (e.g., that would otherwise beavailable via the discrete set of resources provided to the UEs of thefirst responder agency), and may encounter difficulty in sending and/orreceiving traffic (e.g., placing a voice call) during particularsituations, such as during an emergency.

As described herein, an Alert and Priority System (“APS”) of someembodiments may identify UEs associated with relevant users (e.g.,“personal” UEs associated with first responders) based on the occurrenceof an event and modify RAN parameters such that the identified UEs areprovided with priority access. The relevant users may be notified of theevent, either through one of there associated UEs or in another manner.In this manner, personal UEs associated with relevant users may bedynamically provided priority access in situations where such access maybe beneficial, without needing to permanently provide the priorityaccess to such UEs.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a geographical region 100 may include eventlocation 101, which may be a geographical location or area withingeographical region 100 that is associated with an event. The event maybe an emergency event, such as a fire, a robbery, a medical emergency,and/or some other type of event. Public Safety Answering Point (“PSAP”)103 may determine (at 102) an occurrence of the event at event location101. For example, PSAP 103 may receive an emergency call, may receive anautomated alert from an alerting device, and/or may otherwise determinethe occurrence of the event. PSAP 103 may receive an indication of,and/or may otherwise determine, location information associated withevent location 101, such as a set of latitude and longitude coordinates,Global Positioning System (“GPS”) coordinates, or other suitablelocation information. PSAP 103 may also receive an indication of, and/ormay otherwise determine, a type of event (e.g., fire, robbery, medicalemergency, etc.).

PSAP 103 may indicate (at 104) the occurrence of the event to APS 105.For example, PSAP 103 and APS 105 may communicate via an applicationprogramming interface (“API”) or some other suitable communicationpathway, such that APS 105 receives (at 104) such indicationsautomatically, without the need for an operator associated with PSAP 103to manually notify APS 105. The indication (received at 104) mayindicate event location 101, a type of event, and/or other informationregarding the determined event.

As further shown in FIG. 1 , several UEs may be present withingeographical region 100 (e.g., at the time the event is detected, and/orwithin a threshold amount of time after the event has been detected).For example, UEs 107-1, 107-2, and 107-3 (herein sometimes referred toindividually as “UE 107” or collectively as “UEs 107”) may be personalUEs associated with one or more first responders, and UEs 109-1 and109-2 may be UEs that are not associated with first responders.

In accordance with embodiments described herein, APS 105 may identifyand/or select (at 106) particular UEs 107 based on the detection of theevent. Example criteria based on which such UEs 107 may be selected aredescribed below with respect to FIG. 2 . Briefly, APS 105 may selectparticular UEs 107 based on proximity to event location 101, and/orbased on an association with a particular first responder facility 111that is determined to be relevant to the event. In this example, APS 105may select (at 106) UEs 107-1 and 107-3, but not UE 107-2. Further, UEs109-1 and 109-2 may not be selected, by virtue of not being associatedwith a particular group (e.g., first responders, in this example). Asfurther described below, selected UEs 107 may be “elevated” in priority,such that one or more RANs via which the selected UEs 107 are connectedprovide prioritized or otherwise modified service to UEs 107 in certainsituations (e.g., based on the detection of an event).

As noted above, FIG. 2 illustrates the example selection of particularUEs 107 (e.g., the selection of UEs 107-1 and 107-3 from the group ofUEs that includes UEs 107-1, 107-2, and 107-3). For example, APS 105 mayselect particular UEs 107 based on attributes of such UEs 107 and/orusers associated with UEs 107. As shown, APS 105 may receive (at 202) UEinformation from user information repository 205. In some embodiments,user information repository 205 may be, may include, and/or may becommunicatively coupled a Home Subscriber Server (“HSS”) associated witha wireless network, a Unified Data Management function (“UDM”)associated with a wireless network, and/or some other device or systemof a wireless network that performs operations related to themaintaining and/or providing of UE and/or user information. In someembodiments, APS 105 may receive such UE information from a device orsystem of a wireless network that exposes information or servicesassociated with the wireless network, such as a Service CapabilityExposure Function (“SCEF”), a Network Exposure Function (“NEF”), orother suitable device or system.

The information (received at 202) may include information indicatingparticular users associated with respective UEs 107, particularfacilities 111 associated with such users and/or UEs 107, locationinformation associated with UEs 107, and/or other UE information. Asshown, particular UEs 107 may be associated with particular facilities111. For example, APS 105 may determine (e.g., based on the received UEinformation) an association 201 between facility 111-1 and UE 107-3, andmay also determine an association 203 between facility 111-2 and UEs107-1 and 107-2. Associations 201 and 203 may indicate, for example,that users associated with respective facilities 111 are associated withrespective UEs 107. For example, UE 107-3 may be the personal UE of auser (e.g., a first responder) who has facility 111-1 as a “home”facility (e.g., a facility at which the user works, a facility thatnotifies the user regarding events, and/or a facility with which theuser is otherwise associated). Similarly, UE 107-1 may be the personalUE of a particular user who has facility 111-2 as a “home” facility, andUE 107-2 may be the personal UE of a user (e.g., the particular userassociated with UE 107-1 and/or another user) who has facility 111-2 asa “home” facility. In the example of FIG. 2 , associations 201 and 203are associations of respective UEs 107 to one respective facility 111.In some embodiments, a given UE 107 may be associated with multiplefacilities 111.

As shown in FIG. 2 , in this example, APS 105 may select (at 204) UE107-3 based on a determination that facility 111-1 is relevant withrespect to the event (e.g., based on proximity of facility 111-1 toevent location 101, equipment and/or personnel associated with facility111-1 being relevant to a type of event such as fire, robbery, etc.,and/or based on other factors), and further based on a determinationthat association 201 exists between facility 111-1 and UE 107-3. APS 105may determine that facility 111-1 is “proximate” to event location 101inasmuch as facility 111-1 is within a threshold proximity of eventlocation 101, that facility 111-1 is a closest facility 111 to eventlocation 101, and/or based on some other suitable criteria. As furthershown, APS 105 may select (at 206) UE 107-1 based on a proximity of UE107-1 to event location 101. For example, although the “home” facilityof UE 107-1 is facility 111-2 in this example (e.g., as indicated byassociation 203), APS 105 may select UE 107-1 based on a determinationthat UE 107-1 is proximate to event location 101 (e.g., within athreshold proximity of event location 101, a determination that UE 107-1is a closest UE 107 to event location 101, a determination that UE 107-1is one of a set of closest UEs 107 to event location 101, and/or basedon some other criteria). Further, in this example, APS 105 may refrainfrom selecting UE 107-2, as UE 107-2 is not proximate to event location101 (e.g., within a threshold proximity of event location 101, is not aclosest UE 107 to event location 101, etc.) and further because UE 107-2is not associated with a facility 111 that is proximate to eventlocation 101 (e.g., facility 111-1, in this example).

As noted above, APS 105 may perform one or more suitable actions basedon the selection of UEs 107. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , APS 105may notify (at 302) selected UEs 107-1 and 107-3 regarding the detectedevent. For example, APS 105 may forward some or all of the eventinformation (e.g., as received at 104) to UEs 107-1 and 107-3. APS 105may provide the notifications via a Short Message Service (“SMS”)message, a Multimedia Messaging Service (“MMS”) message, an email, apop-up (e.g., system-level) alert, and/or some other suitable type ofalert. In some embodiments, APS 105 may obtain or receive contactinformation (e.g., Mobile Directory Number (“MDN”), Internet Protocol(“IP”) address, or the like) from user information repository 205 and/orsome other suitable device or system. In some embodiments, APS 105 maynotify (at 304) PSAP 103 and/or some other device or system (e.g.,facility 111-1, facility 111-2, or some other device, system, facility,etc.) of the selection of UEs 107-1 and 107-3 based on the detectedevent.

As another example, and as shown in FIG. 4 , APS 105 may effectmodifications to one or more RANs providing wireless service to selectedUEs 107-1 and 107-3. As discussed above, such modifications may ensurethat UEs 107-1 and 107-3 receive wireless service (e.g., are able towirelessly send and/or receive traffic) according to a particularQuality of Service (“QoS”) or priority level, such as a QoS or prioritylevel associated with first responders or other suitable groups orcategories. In some embodiments, such QoS or priority levels may beprovided via different network “slices,” where each network slice isassociated with a particular discrete set of network functions or otherdiscrete network resources.

For example, APS 105 may receive (at 402) network information fromnetwork information repository 401. In some embodiments, networkinformation repository 401 may be, may include, and/or may becommunicatively coupled to a Network Repository Function (“NRF”) and/orsome other device or system of a wireless network that performsoperations related to the maintaining and/or providing of informationindicating deployed network elements associated with the wirelessnetwork. Such information may include identifiers, IP addresses,location information, usage information, performance metrics, and/orother information associated with base stations and/or other networkelements associated with the wireless network.

The received network information may indicate the presence of a set ofbase stations 403 within geographical region 100, including basestations 403-1, 403-2, and 403-3. As shown, based on the providednetwork information, APS 105 may identify (at 404) particular networkelements associated with the selected UEs 107-1 and 107-3. For example,the provided network information may indicate that UE 107-1 is connectedto (e.g., receiving wireless service from) base station 403-1, and thatUE 107-3 is connected to base station 403-3. The network information mayfurther indicate that UE 107-2 is connected to base station 403-1, thatUE 109-1 is connected to base station 403-2, and that UE 109-2 isconnected to base station 403-3.

Based on the selection (e.g., at 204 and 206) of UEs 107-1 and 107-3,and further based on the determination (at 404) that UEs 107-1 and 107-3are connected to base stations 403-1 and 403-3, respectively, APS 105may determine that parameters of base stations 403-1 and 403-3 should bemodified. One example of such a modification (e.g., the modification ofRF resources associated with base stations 403-1 and/or 403-3) isdiscussed below with respect to FIG. 5 . Additionally, or alternatively,APS 105 may determine that one or more parameters associated with UEs107-1 and/or 107-3 should be modified (e.g., “elevating” or otherwisemodifying a priority level, group, category, etc. associated with UEs107-1 and/or 107-3), as discussed further below with respect to FIG. 6 .A modified (e.g., “elevated” or “increased”) priority level, category,etc. associated with a given UE 107 based on the detection of an eventmay allow such UE 107 to receive enhanced or otherwise differentiatedwireless service.

As shown in FIG. 5 , for example, prior to the modification (at 406) ofparameters associated with base station 403-1, base station 403-1 may beassociated with a first set of RF resource configuration parameters 501.RF resource configuration parameters 501 may include allocations, in thetime and/or frequency domains, of RF bandwidth associated with basestation 403-1. While represented in FIG. 5 as a grid (e.g., where thevertical axis represents the frequency domain and the horizontal axisrepresents the time domain), such PRBs may be represented differently inpractice. Further, the grids of FIG. 5 may represent one frame (or aportion thereof), where a “frame” may refer to a repeating (or otherwisediscrete) allocation of PRBs within a given time period. Further, theillustrated PRBs may be PRBs associated with one or more uplink and/ordownlink channels, such as a Physical Downlink Control Channel(“PDCCH”), a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (“PDSCH”), a PhysicalUplink Control Channel (“PUCCH”), a Physical Uplink Shared Channel(“PUSCH”), and/or some other channel.

The allocations may be associated with different categories, classes,groups, etc., such that base station 403-1 may provide differentiatedand/or otherwise discrete RF resources (e.g., PRBs) to such categories,classes, groups, etc. For example, one set of PRBs may be associatedwith pilot signals transmitted from base station 403-1 (e.g., across allfrequencies at a given time slot within the illustrated frame). Asfurther shown, another set of PRBs may be associated with a “firstresponder” category (e.g., one or more frequencies or frequency bandsacross multiple time slots within the illustrated frame). Additionally,other sets of PRBs may be associated with a “voice calls” category, a“video streaming” category, and an “other” category (and/or one or moreother categories represented here as “other”).

The categories may be implemented according to traffic application type(e.g., voice calls, SMS messages, video streaming, etc.), trafficendpoints (e.g., a source and/or destination of traffic, such as a webserver, an Internet-accessible resource, a Uniform Resource Locator(“URL”), an IP address, a particular UE 107, etc.), and/or otherfactors. For example, base station 403-1 may allocate or grantparticular resources (e.g., PRBs associated with the “first responder”category) to a particular UE (e.g., a device installed in or associatedwith a particular facility 111, a personal UE 107, etc.) based oninformation from user information repository 205, indicating that theparticular UE is suitably associated with the “first responder”category. For example, user information repository 205 and/or some otherdevice or system may store information indicating one or morecategories, classes, etc. with which particular UEs are associated. Onesuch indication may include a “flag” or other indicator that aparticular UE is associated with a “first responder” category. In someembodiments, such indication may include, and/or be based on, a QoSlevel associated with the particular UE (e.g., a QoS Class Identifier(“QCI”), a QoS Flow Identifier (“QFI”), etc.) and/or with one or moretraffic flows associated with the particular UE.

As further shown in FIG. 5 , after the modification (at 406) of theparameters associated with base station 403-1, base station 403-1 mayallocate RF resources according to a modified second set of RF resourceconfiguration parameters 503. Based on the modified second set of RFresource configuration parameters 503, base station 403-1 may allocateRF resources differently than the allocations according to the first setof RF resource configuration parameters 501. For example, as shown, theamount of resources allocated to the “first responder” category may beincreased in the modified second set of RF resource configurationparameters 503 as compared to the first set of RF resource configurationparameters 501. Due to the increase in the RF resources allocated forthe “first responder” category, the RF resources allocated for one ormore other categories may be reduced (e.g., reduced by an amount equalto or otherwise based on the increased allocation for the “firstresponder” category).

In some embodiments, APS 105, base station 403-1, and/or some otherdevice or system may determine an amount by which to increase theresources associated with one category and/or by which to reduce theresources associated with another category. As one example, APS 105,base station 403-1, etc. may determine an amount of traffic associatedwith selected UEs 107, connected to base station 403-1 (e.g., UE 107-1,referring to the examples of previous figures), prior to themodification (at 406). For example, base station 403-1 may haveallocated one set of PRBs for voice call traffic to and/or from UE107-1, and another set of PRBs for video streaming traffic to and/orfrom UE 107-1. In some embodiments, base station 403-1 may increase theRF resources allocated to the “first responder” traffic by an amountequal to, or otherwise based on, the quantity of PRBs allocated forvoice call and video streaming traffic to and/or from UE 107-1. Asanother example, base station 403-1 may increase the RF resourcesallocated to the “first responder” category by an amount equal to, orotherwise based on, the quantity of PRBs allocated for voice calltraffic to and/or from UE 107-1, but not video streaming traffic toand/or from UE 107-1 (e.g., may selectively increase the PRBs allocatedto the “first responder” category based on traffic type or category).

In some embodiments, base station 403-1 may increase the RF resourcesallocated to the “first responder” category based on a utilizationlevel, load, amount of used and/or available PRBs, etc. associated withthe “first responder” category. For example, if the “first responder”category is associated with at least a threshold amount or percentage ofavailable PRBs (e.g., at least 80% of “first responder” PRBs unutilizedover a given time frame) prior to the modification (at 406), then basestation 403-1 may refrain from increasing the PRBs allocated for the“first responder” category. As another example, if the “first responder”category is associated with at least a threshold amount or percentage ofused PRBs (e.g., at least 80% of “first responder” PRBs utilized over agiven time frame) prior to the modification (at 406), then base station403-1 may increase the PRBs allocated for the “first responder” categoryby a relatively large amount. As yet another example, if the if the“first responder” category is associated with lower than a thresholdamount or percentage of used PRBs (e.g., less than 80% of “firstresponder” PRBs utilized over a given time frame) prior to themodification (at 406), then base station 403-1 may increase the PRBsallocated for the “first responder” category by a relatively smalleramount. In some embodiments, the amount of increased allocation may beon a sliding scale, based on the amount of used and/or unused PRBs forthe category.

The amount of reduction of PRBs in other categories may be based on QoSlevels associated with the other categories (e.g., where PRBs associatedwith lower QoS levels may be reduced first), utilization of PRBsassociated with other categories (e.g., more heavily utilized categoriesmay be reduced less than less heavily utilized categories), and/or otherfactors. In this manner, APS 105, base station 403, and/or some otherdevice or system may dynamically increase the resources associated withparticular categories of users, UEs, and/or traffic (e.g., the personalUEs 107 associated with first responders, voice calls made via such UEs107 as opposed to other types of traffic like video streaming, etc.).

As noted above, different types of traffic and/or different trafficendpoints may be treated differently by APS 105 and/or base station 403(e.g., for the purposes of prioritizing traffic to and/or from UEs 107based on the detection of an event). As shown in FIG. 6 , for example,user information repository 205 may maintain and/or provide (e.g., toAPS 105) information associating a particular first responder 601 with aset 603 of UEs 107. The set 603 of UEs 107 may include, for example, amobile phone (UE 107-1), a tablet device (UE 107-4), and a vehiclesubsystem (UE 107-5), which may include an infotainment system, anavigation system, or the like installed or situated in a vehicle. Userinformation repository 205 may further maintain and/or provideinformation regarding the set 603 of UEs 107, including device type,make and/or model, screen size, and/or other attributes.

Based on the device attributes of UEs 107, APS 105 may determine whetherto elevate (e.g., as similarly described above with respect tooperations 204 and/or 206) a given UE 107, and/or whether to elevateparticular traffic associated with UE 107. For example, APS 105, userinformation repository 205, PSAP 103, and/or some other device or systemmay maintain information indicating that a particular UE 107 (and/orcertain traffic types associated with UE 107) is “elevated” based on thedetection of an event, where an elevated priority level, category, etc.is different from a priority level, category, etc. associated with UE107 prior to the detection of the event. Based on the “elevated”priority level, UE 107 may be associated with a “first responder”category (e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIG. 5 ), where suchUE 107 may not have been associated with the “first responder” categoryprior to the elevation of UE 107.

As noted above, APS 105 may elevate UE 107 based on a device typeassociated with UE 107. In the example of FIG. 5 , APS 105 may elevate(at 602) all traffic to and/or from UE 107-1. For example, APS 105 maybe configured to determine that all traffic associated with the personalmobile phones of a given set of first responders should be elevated to a“first responder” category based on satisfaction of the predeterminedcriteria. Additionally, APS 105 may elevate (at 604) some, but not all,traffic associated with UE 107-4. For example, APS 105 may be configuredto elevate voice call traffic and text messaging traffic associated withtablet devices should be elevated, but not video streaming traffic orInternet browsing traffic, or any combination thereof. Additionally, oralternatively, APS 105 may elevate such traffic differently. Forexample, Internet browsing traffic may be elevated to a different (e.g.,higher priority) category than a category previously associated with theInternet browsing traffic, and different than the “first responder”category. As further shown, APS 105 may refrain from elevating (at 606)any traffic to and/or from UE 107-5. For example, APS 105 may beconfigured to not elevate any traffic to and/or from vehicle subsystems.

While FIG. 6 provides an example with respect to one example firstresponder 601, in practice, similar concepts may apply for multiplefirst responders. Further, different policies, rules, etc. may beimplemented for different first responders, different groups of firstresponders, different facilities 111, or the like. For example, in someembodiments, APS 105 may be configured to elevate some or all trafficassociated with a vehicle subsystem of a different first responder.

The elevating of some or all traffic (e.g., at 602 and/or 604)associated with a given UE 107 based on the detection of the event mayallow, cause, facilitate, etc. base station 403 to handle, prioritize,etc. such traffic according to priority categories, classes, etc.Additionally, based on the elevating of traffic associated withparticular UEs 107 and further based on the dynamic allocation of RFresources (e.g., allocating more PRBs to a category corresponding toelevated traffic), relevant event-based traffic may be more robustly andreliably handled by a wireless network.

In some embodiments, one or more the operations described above may bereverted after some time. The reverting may include, for example,reverting modified RF resource configuration parameters 503 associatedwith a given base station 403 to a pervious set of RF resourceconfiguration parameters 501. In some embodiments, the reverting mayinclude de-elevating traffic and/or UEs 107 (e.g., to a categoryassociated with such traffic and/or UEs 107 prior to the elevating). Forexample, APS 105 may receive an indication that the event has beenresolved and/or has otherwise ended, and may revert the operations basedon such indication. In some embodiments, APS 105 may revert theoperations after a predetermined duration of time has elapsed after suchoperations have been performed (e.g., 30 minutes, one hour, one day,etc.). In some embodiments, APS 105 may revert the operations on someother basis and/or based on one or more other factors.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process 700 for providing elevated and/orprioritized service to a given set of UEs 107 based on the detection ofan event. In some embodiments, some or all of process 700 may beperformed by APS 105. In some embodiments, one or more other devices mayperform some or all of process 700 in concert with, and/or in lieu of,APS 105.

As shown, process 700 may include determining (at 702) the occurrence ofan event. For example, as discussed above with respect to FIG. 1 , APS105 may receive an indication of the occurrence of the event from PSAP103 and/or from some other source.

Process 700 may further include selecting (at 704) one or more UEs 107based on the determined event. For example, as discussed above withrespect to FIG. 2 , APS 105 may select one or more UEs 107 based onrelevance of such UEs 107 to a location associated with the event,relevance of “home” facilities 111 associated with such UEs 107 to thelocation associated with the event, and/or other factors. As noted,“relevance” may be determined based on proximity, equipment and/orpersonnel type, event type, and/or other factors. In some embodiments,UEs not selected (at 704) may be UEs that are not associated with aparticular group of UEs or users, such as UEs not associated with firstresponders or another group.

Process 700 may additionally include associating (at 706) the selectedUEs 107 with an elevated category. For example, as discussed above withrespect to FIG. 6 , APS 105 may selectively associate one or more of theselected UEs 107 (and/or UEs 107 associated with a given user, such asfirst responder 601) with the elevated category. Further, the elevatingmay be based on a device type, traffic type, and/or other factors. Insome embodiments, associating UEs 107 may include outputting anotification or instruction to user information repository 205 forupdating, base station 403, and/or some other device or system, that UEs107 (and/or selected traffic types associated with UE 107) areassociated with the elevated category.

Process 700 may also include identifying (at 708) one or more basestations 403 to modify a RF resource allocation associated with theelevated category. For example, as discussed above with respect to FIG.4 , APS 105 may identify one or more base stations 403 to which theselected UEs 107 are connected, and may instruct such base stations 403to modify RF resource allocation parameters (e.g., to generated modifiedRF resource allocation parameters 503). In some embodiments, APS 105 mayinstruct one or more base stations 403, that are not connected to UEs107, to modify RF resource allocation parameters. For example, APS 105may instruct base stations 403 that are “neighbors” (e.g., within athreshold proximity) of a base station 403, to which UE 107 isconnected, to modify RF resource allocation parameters. In someembodiments, APS 105 may instruct a particular base station 403 that iswithin a particular proximity of selected UEs 107 (but to which such UEs107 are not connected) to modify RF resource allocation parameters. Inthis manner, UEs 107 that move into coverage areas associated with suchbase stations 403 may continue to receive service according to themodified RF resource allocation parameters, even when being handed overbetween multiple base stations 403.

Process 700 may further include instructing (at 710) the identified basestations 403 to modify RF resource allocation parameters associated withthe elevated category. For example, as discussed above with respect toFIG. 5 , APS 105 may instruct base station 403 to increase a quantity ofPRBs allocated for the elevated category. As discussed above, the amountof increase may be equal to or otherwise based on a current usageassociated with UEs 107.

Process 700 may additionally include determining (at 712) that the eventhas ended. For example, APS 105 may receive such information from PSAP103 or some other source, and/or may determine that at least a thresholdamount of time has elapsed since the occurrence of the event wasdetermined (at 702).

Process 700 may also include reverting (at 714) the association of UEs107 with the elevated category, and/or modification of the RF resourceallocation parameters. In some embodiments, removing the association ofUEs 107 with the elevated category may include outputting a notificationor instruction to user information repository 205, base station 403,and/or some other device or system, that UEs 107 (and/or selectedtraffic types associated with UEs 107) are no longer associated with theelevated category. In this manner, the association of UEs 107 may be“temporary” based on the occurrence of particular events.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example environment 800, in which one or moreembodiments may be implemented. In some embodiments, environment 800 maycorrespond to a Fifth Generation (“5G”) network, and/or may includeelements of a 5G network. In some embodiments, environment 800 maycorrespond to a 5G Non-Standalone (“NSA”) architecture, in which a 5Gradio access technology (“RAT”) may be used in conjunction with one ormore other RATs (e.g., a Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) RAT), and/or inwhich elements of a 5G core network may be implemented by, may becommunicatively coupled with, and/or may include elements of anothertype of core network (e.g., an evolved packet core (“EPC”)). As shown,environment 800 may include UE 107 and/or 109 (referred to herein as “UE107/109”), RAN 810 (which may include one or more Next Generation NodeBs (“gNBs”) 811), RAN 812 (which may include one or more one or moreevolved Node Bs (“eNBs”) 813), and various network functions such asAccess and Mobility Management Function (“AMF”) 815, Mobility ManagementEntity (“MME”) 816, Serving Gateway (“SGW”) 817, Session ManagementFunction (“SMF”)/Packet Data Network (“PDN”) Gateway (“PGW”)-Controlplane function (“PGW-C”) 820, Policy Control Function (“PCF”)/PolicyCharging and Rules Function (“PCRF”) 825, Application Function (“AF”)830, User Plane Function (“UPF”)/PGW-User plane function (“PGW-U”) 835,Home Subscriber Server (“HSS”)/Unified Data Management (“UDM”) 840, andAuthentication Server Function (“AUSF”) 845. Environment 800 may alsoinclude one or more networks, such as Data Network (“DN”) 850.Environment 800 may include one or more additional devices or systemscommunicatively coupled to one or more networks (e.g., DN 850), such asAPS 105.

The example shown in FIG. 8 illustrates one instance of each networkcomponent or function (e.g., one instance of SMF/PGW-C 820, PCF/PCRF825, UPF/PGW-U 835, HSS/UDM 840, and/or 845). In practice, environment800 may include multiple instances of such components or functions. Forexample, in some embodiments, environment 800 may include multiple“slices” of a core network, where each slice includes a discrete set ofnetwork functions (e.g., one slice may include a first instance ofSMF/PGW-C 820, PCF/PCRF 825, UPF/PGW-U 835, HSS/UDM 840, and/or 845,while another slice may include a second instance of SMF/PGW-C 820,PCF/PCRF 825, UPF/PGW-U 835, HSS/UDM 840, and/or 845). The differentslices may provide differentiated levels of service, such as service inaccordance with different QoS parameters. In some embodiments, thedifferent “categories” associated with RF resource allocations, asdiscussed above, may each be associated with a particular slice.

The quantity of devices and/or networks, illustrated in FIG. 8 , isprovided for explanatory purposes only. In practice, environment 800 mayinclude additional devices and/or networks, fewer devices and/ornetworks, different devices and/or networks, or differently arrangeddevices and/or networks than illustrated in FIG. 8 . For example, whilenot shown, environment 800 may include devices that facilitate or enablecommunication between various components shown in environment 800, suchas routers, modems, gateways, switches, hubs, etc. Alternatively, oradditionally, one or more of the devices of environment 800 may performone or more network functions described as being performed by anotherone or more of the devices of environment 800. Devices of environment800 may interconnect with each other and/or other devices via wiredconnections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired andwireless connections. In some implementations, one or more devices ofenvironment 800 may be physically integrated in, and/or may bephysically attached to, one or more other devices of environment 800.

UE 107/109 may include a computation and communication device, such as awireless mobile communication device that is capable of communicatingwith RAN 810, RAN 812, and/or DN 850. UE 107/109 may be, or may include,a radiotelephone, a personal communications system (“PCS”) terminal(e.g., a device that combines a cellular radiotelephone with dataprocessing and data communications capabilities), a personal digitalassistant (“PDA”) (e.g., a device that may include a radiotelephone, apager, Internet/intranet access, etc.), a smart phone, a laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, a camera, a personal gaming system, an IoTdevice (e.g., a sensor, a smart home appliance, or the like), a wearabledevice, an Internet of Things (“IoT”) device, a Mobile-to-Mobile (“M2M”)device, or another type of mobile computation and communication device.UE 107/109 may send traffic to and/or receive traffic (e.g., user planetraffic) from DN 850 via RAN 810, RAN 812, and/or UPF/PGW-U 835.

RAN 810 may be, or may include, a 5G RAN that includes one or more basestations (e.g., one or more gNBs 811), via which UE 107/109 maycommunicate with one or more other elements of environment 800. UE107/109 may communicate with RAN 810 via an air interface (e.g., asprovided by gNB 811). For instance, RAN 810 may receive traffic (e.g.,voice call traffic, data traffic, messaging traffic, signaling traffic,etc.) from UE 107/109 via the air interface, and may communicate thetraffic to UPF/PGW-U 835, and/or one or more other devices or networks.Similarly, RAN 810 may receive traffic intended for UE 107/109 (e.g.,from UPF/PGW-U 835, AMF 815, and/or one or more other devices ornetworks) and may communicate the traffic to UE 107/109 via the airinterface. In some embodiments, base station 403 may be, may include,and/or may be implemented by one or more gNBs 811.

RAN 812 may be, or may include, a LTE RAN that includes one or more basestations (e.g., one or more eNBs 813), via which UE 107/109 maycommunicate with one or more other elements of environment 800. UE107/109 may communicate with RAN 812 via an air interface (e.g., asprovided by eNB 813). For instance, RAN 810 may receive traffic (e.g.,voice call traffic, data traffic, messaging traffic, signaling traffic,etc.) from UE 107/109 via the air interface, and may communicate thetraffic to UPF/PGW-U 835, and/or one or more other devices or networks.Similarly, RAN 810 may receive traffic intended for UE 107/109 (e.g.,from UPF/PGW-U 835, SGW 817, and/or one or more other devices ornetworks) and may communicate the traffic to UE 107/109 via the airinterface. In some embodiments, base station 403 may be, may include,and/or may be implemented by one or more eNBs 813.

AMF 815 may include one or more devices, systems, Virtualized NetworkFunctions (“VNFs”), etc., that perform operations to register UE 107/109with the 5G network, to establish bearer channels associated with asession with UE 107/109, to hand off UE 107/109 from the 5G network toanother network, to hand off UE 107/109 from the other network to the 5Gnetwork, manage mobility of UE 107/109 between RANs 810 and/or gNBs 811,and/or to perform other operations. In some embodiments, the 5G networkmay include multiple AMFs 815, which communicate with each other via theN14 interface (denoted in FIG. 8 by the line marked “N14” originatingand terminating at AMF 815).

MME 816 may include one or more devices, systems, VNFs, etc., thatperform operations to register UE 107/109 with the EPC, to establishbearer channels associated with a session with UE 107/109, to hand offUE 107/109 from the EPC to another network, to hand off UE 107/109 fromanother network to the EPC, manage mobility of UE 107/109 between RANs812 and/or eNBs 813, and/or to perform other operations.

SGW 817 may include one or more devices, systems, VNFs, etc., thataggregate traffic received from one or more eNBs 813 and send theaggregated traffic to an external network or device via UPF/PGW-U 835.Additionally, SGW 817 may aggregate traffic received from one or moreUPF/PGW-Us 835 and may send the aggregated traffic to one or more eNBs813. SGW 817 may operate as an anchor for the user plane duringinter-eNB handovers and as an anchor for mobility between differenttelecommunication networks or RANs (e.g., RANs 810 and 812).

SMF/PGW-C 820 may include one or more devices, systems, VNFs, etc., thatgather, process, store, and/or provide information in a manner describedherein. SMF/PGW-C 820 may, for example, facilitate in the establishmentof communication sessions on behalf of UE 107/109. In some embodiments,the establishment of communications sessions may be performed inaccordance with one or more policies provided by PCF/PCRF 825.

PCF/PCRF 825 may include one or more devices, systems, VNFs, etc., thataggregate information to and from the 5G network and/or other sources.PCF/PCRF 825 may receive information regarding policies and/orsubscriptions from one or more sources, such as subscriber databasesand/or from one or more users (such as, for example, an administratorassociated with PCF/PCRF 825).

AF 830 may include one or more devices, systems, VNFs, etc., thatreceive, store, and/or provide information that may be used indetermining parameters (e.g., quality of service parameters, chargingparameters, or the like) for certain applications.

UPF/PGW-U 835 may include one or more devices, systems, VNFs, etc., thatreceive, store, and/or provide data (e.g., user plane data). Forexample, UPF/PGW-U 835 may receive user plane data (e.g., voice calltraffic, data traffic, etc.), destined for UE 107/109, from DN 850, andmay forward the user plane data toward UE 107/109 (e.g., via RAN 810,SMF/PGW-C 820, and/or one or more other devices). In some embodiments,multiple UPFs 835 may be deployed (e.g., in different geographicallocations), and the delivery of content to UE 107/109 may be coordinatedvia the N9 interface (e.g., as denoted in FIG. 8 by the line marked “N9”originating and terminating at UPF/PGW-U 835). Similarly, UPF/PGW-U 835may receive traffic from UE 107/109 (e.g., via RAN 810, SMF/PGW-C 820,and/or one or more other devices), and may forward the traffic toward DN850. In some embodiments, UPF/PGW-U 835 may communicate (e.g., via theN4 interface) with SMF/PGW-C 820, regarding user plane data processed byUPF/PGW-U 835.

HSS/UDM 840 and AUSF 845 may include one or more devices, systems, VNFs,etc., that manage, update, and/or store, in one or more memory devicesassociated with AUSF 845 and/or HSS/UDM 840, profile informationassociated with a subscriber. AUSF 845 and/or HSS/UDM 840 may performauthentication, authorization, and/or accounting operations associatedwith the subscriber and/or a communication session with UE 107/109. Insome embodiments, user information repository 205 may be, may include,and/or may be communicatively coupled to HSS/UDM 840.

DN 850 may include one or more wired and/or wireless networks. Forexample, DN 850 may include an IP-based PDN, a wide area network (“WAN”)such as the Internet, a private enterprise network, and/or one or moreother networks. UE 107/109 may communicate, through DN 850, with dataservers, other UEs 107/109, and/or to other servers or applications thatare coupled to DN 850. DN 850 may be connected to one or more othernetworks, such as a public switched telephone network (“PSTN”), a publicland mobile network (“PLMN”), and/or another network. DN 850 may beconnected to one or more devices, such as content providers,applications, web servers, and/or other devices, with which UE 107/109may communicate.

APS 105 may include one or more devices, systems, VNFs, etc., thatperform one or more operations described herein. For example, APS 105may select UEs 107 based on the occurrence of an event (e.g., based onthe locations of UEs 107 relative to the location of the event, based onlocations of “home” facilities 111 associated with UEs 107, etc.), mayelevate a priority level or category associated with such UEs 107,and/or may modify RAN parameters (e.g., associated with base stations403) in order to provide additional RF resources to such UEs 107.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example Distributed Unit (“DU”) network 900, whichmay be included in and/or implemented by one or more RANs (e.g., RAN810, RAN 812, or some other RAN). In some embodiments, a particular RANmay include one DU network 900. In some embodiments, a particular RANmay include multiple DU networks 900. In some embodiments, DU network900 may correspond to a particular gNB 811 of a 5G RAN (e.g., RAN 810).In some embodiments, DU network 900 may correspond to multiple gNBs 811.In some embodiments, DU network 900 may correspond to one or more othertypes of base stations of one or more other types of RANs. As shown, DUnetwork 900 may include Central Unit (“CU”) 905, one or more DistributedUnits (“DUs”) 903-1 through 903-N (referred to individually as “DU 903,”or collectively as “DUs 903”), and one or more Radio Units (“RUs”) 901-1through 901-M (referred to individually as “RU 901,” or collectively as“RUs 901”).

CU 905 may communicate with a core of a wireless network (e.g., maycommunicate with one or more of the devices or systems described abovewith respect to FIG. 8 , such as AMF 815 and/or UPF/PGW-U 835). In theuplink direction (e.g., for traffic from UEs 107/109 to a core network),CU 905 may aggregate traffic from DUs 903, and forward the aggregatedtraffic to the core network. In some embodiments, CU 905 may receivetraffic according to a given protocol (e.g., Radio Link Control (“RLC”))from DUs 903, and may perform higher-layer processing (e.g., mayaggregate/process RLC packets and generate Packet Data ConvergenceProtocol (“PDCP”) packets based on the RLC packets) on the trafficreceived from DUs 903.

In accordance with some embodiments, CU 905 may receive downlink traffic(e.g., traffic from the core network) for a particular UE 107/109, andmay determine which DU(s) 903 should receive the downlink traffic. DU903 may include one or more devices that transmit traffic between a corenetwork (e.g., via CU 905) and UE 107/109 (e.g., via a respective RU901). DU 903 may, for example, receive traffic from RU 901 at a firstlayer (e.g., physical (“PHY”) layer traffic, or lower PHY layertraffic), and may process/aggregate the traffic to a second layer (e.g.,upper PHY and/or RLC). DU 903 may receive traffic from CU 905 at thesecond layer, may process the traffic to the first layer, and providethe processed traffic to a respective RU 901 for transmission to UE107/109.

RU 901 may include hardware circuitry (e.g., one or more RFtransceivers, antennas, radios, and/or other suitable hardware) tocommunicate wirelessly (e.g., via an RF interface) with one or more UEs107/109, one or more other DUs 903 (e.g., via RUs 901 associated withDUs 903), and/or any other suitable type of device. In the uplinkdirection, RU 901 may receive traffic from UE 107/109 and/or another DU903 via the RF interface and may provide the traffic to DU 903. In thedownlink direction, RU 901 may receive traffic from DU 903, and mayprovide the traffic to UE 107/109 and/or another DU 903.

RUs 901 may, in some embodiments, be communicatively coupled to one ormore Multi-Access/Mobile Edge Computing (“MEC”) devices, referred tosometimes herein simply as (“MECs”) 907. For example, RU 901-1 may becommunicatively coupled to MEC 907-1, RU 901-M may be communicativelycoupled to MEC 907-M, DU 903-1 may be communicatively coupled to MEC907-2, DU 903-N may be communicatively coupled to MEC 907-N, CU 905 maybe communicatively coupled to MEC 907-3, and so on. MECs 907 may includehardware resources (e.g., configurable or provisionable hardwareresources) that may be configured to provide services and/or otherwiseprocess traffic to and/or from UE 107/109, via a respective RU 901.

For example, RU 901-1 may route some traffic, from UE 107/109, to MEC907-1 instead of to a core network (e.g., via DU 903 and CU 905). MEC907-1 may process the traffic, perform one or more computations based onthe received traffic, and may provide traffic to UE 107/109 via RU901-1. In this manner, ultra-low latency services may be provided to UE107/109, as traffic does not need to traverse DU 903, CU 905, and anintervening backhaul network between DU network 900 and the corenetwork. In some embodiments, MEC 907 may include, and/or may implement,some or all of the functionality described above with respect to APS105.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example O-RAN environment 1000, which maycorrespond to RAN 810, RAN 812, and/or DU network 900. For example, RAN810, RAN 812, and/or DU network 900 may include one or more instances ofO-RAN environment 1000, and/or one or more instances of O-RANenvironment 1000 may implement RAN 810, RAN 812, DU network 900, and/orsome portion thereof. As shown, O-RAN environment 1000 may includeNon-Real Time Radio Intelligent Controller (“RIC”) 1001, Near-Real TimeRIC 1003, O-eNB 1005, O-CU-Control Plane (“O-CU-CP”) 1007, O-CU-UserPlane (“O-CU-UP”) 1009, O-DU 1011, O-RU 1013, and O-Cloud 1015. In someembodiments, O-RAN environment 1000 may include additional, fewer,different, and/or differently arranged components.

In some embodiments, some or all of the elements of O-RAN environment1000 may be implemented by one or more configurable or provisionableresources, such as virtual machines, cloud computing systems, physicalservers, and/or other types of configurable or provisionable resources.In some embodiments, some or all of O-RAN environment 1000 may beimplemented by, and/or communicatively coupled to, one or more MECs 907.

Non-Real Time RIC 1001 and Near-Real Time RIC 1003 may receiveperformance information (and/or other types of information) from one ormore sources, and may configure other elements of O-RAN environment 1000based on such performance or other information. For example, Near-RealTime RIC 1003 may receive performance information, via one or more E2interfaces, from O-eNB 1005, O-CU-CP 1007, and/or O-CU-UP 1009, and maymodify parameters associated with O-eNB 1005, O-CU-CP 1007, and/orO-CU-UP 1009 based on such performance information. Similarly, Non-RealTime RIC 1001 may receive performance information associated with O-eNB1005, O-CU-CP 1007, O-CU-UP 1009, and/or one or more other elements ofO-RAN environment 1000 and may utilize machine learning and/or otherhigher level computing or processing to determine modifications to theconfiguration of O-eNB 1005, O-CU-CP 1007, O-CU-UP 1009, and/or otherelements of O-RAN environment 1000. In some embodiments, Non-Real TimeRIC 1001 may generate machine learning models based on performanceinformation associated with O-RAN environment 1000 or other sources, andmay provide such models to Near-Real Time MC 1003 for implementation.

O-eNB 1005 may perform functions similar to those described above withrespect to eNB 813. For example, O-eNB 1005 may facilitate wirelesscommunications between UE 107/109 and a core network. O-CU-CP 1007 mayperform control plane signaling to coordinate the aggregation and/ordistribution of traffic via one or more DUs 903, which may includeand/or be implemented by one or more O-DUs 1011, and O-CU-UP 1009 mayperform the aggregation and/or distribution of traffic via such DUs 903(e.g., O-DUs 1011). O-DU 1011 may be communicatively coupled to one ormore RUs 901, which may include and/or may be implemented by one or moreO-RUs 1013. In some embodiments, O-Cloud 1015 may include or beimplemented by one or more MECs 907, which may provide services, and maybe communicatively coupled, to O-CU-CP 1007, O-CU-UP 1009, O-DU 1011,and/or O-RU 1013 (e.g., via an O1 and/or O2 interface).

FIG. 11 illustrates example components of device 1100. One or more ofthe devices described above may include one or more devices 1100. Device1100 may include bus 1110, processor 1120, memory 1130, input component1140, output component 1150, and communication interface 1160. Inanother implementation, device 1100 may include additional, fewer,different, or differently arranged components.

Bus 1110 may include one or more communication paths that permitcommunication among the components of device 1100. Processor 1120 mayinclude a processor, microprocessor, or processing logic that mayinterpret and execute instructions. Memory 1130 may include any type ofdynamic storage device that may store information and instructions forexecution by processor 1120, and/or any type of non-volatile storagedevice that may store information for use by processor 1120.

Input component 1140 may include a mechanism that permits an operator toinput information to device 1100 and/or other receives or detects inputfrom a source external to 1140, such as a touchpad, a touchscreen, akeyboard, a keypad, a button, a switch, a microphone or other audioinput component, etc. In some embodiments, input component 1140 mayinclude, or may be communicatively coupled to, one or more sensors, suchas a motion sensor (e.g., which may be or may include a gyroscope,accelerometer, or the like), a location sensor (e.g., a GlobalPositioning System (“GPS”)-based location sensor or some other suitabletype of location sensor or location determination component), athermometer, a barometer, and/or some other type of sensor. Outputcomponent 1150 may include a mechanism that outputs information to theoperator, such as a display, a speaker, one or more light emittingdiodes (“LEDs”), etc.

Communication interface 1160 may include any transceiver-like mechanismthat enables device 1100 to communicate with other devices and/orsystems. For example, communication interface 1160 may include anEthernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, or thelike. Communication interface 1160 may include a wireless communicationdevice, such as an infrared (“IR”) receiver, a Bluetooth® radio, or thelike. The wireless communication device may be coupled to an externaldevice, such as a remote control, a wireless keyboard, a mobiletelephone, etc. In some embodiments, device 1100 may include more thanone communication interface 1160. For instance, device 1100 may includean optical interface and an Ethernet interface.

Device 1100 may perform certain operations relating to one or moreprocesses described above. Device 1100 may perform these operations inresponse to processor 1120 executing software instructions stored in acomputer-readable medium, such as memory 1130. A computer-readablemedium may be defined as a non-transitory memory device. A memory devicemay include space within a single physical memory device or spreadacross multiple physical memory devices. The software instructions maybe read into memory 1130 from another computer-readable medium or fromanother device. The software instructions stored in memory 1130 maycause processor 1120 to perform processes described herein.Alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions to implement processes describedherein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to anyspecific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The foregoing description of implementations provides illustration anddescription, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thepossible implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modificationsand variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may beacquired from practice of the implementations.

For example, while series of blocks and/or signals have been describedabove (e.g., with regard to FIGS. 1-7 ), the order of the blocks and/orsignals may be modified in other implementations. Further, non-dependentblocks and/or signals may be performed in parallel. Additionally, whilethe figures have been described in the context of particular devicesperforming particular acts, in practice, one or more other devices mayperform some or all of these acts in lieu of, or in addition to, theabove-mentioned devices.

The actual software code or specialized control hardware used toimplement an embodiment is not limiting of the embodiment. Thus, theoperation and behavior of the embodiment has been described withoutreference to the specific software code, it being understood thatsoftware and control hardware may be designed based on the descriptionherein.

In the preceding specification, various example embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto,and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing fromthe broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims thatfollow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded inan illustrative rather than restrictive sense.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in theclaims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are notintended to limit the disclosure of the possible implementations. Infact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specificallyrecited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Althougheach dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one otherclaim, the disclosure of the possible implementations includes eachdependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

Further, while certain connections or devices are shown, in practice,additional, fewer, or different, connections or devices may be used.Furthermore, while various devices and networks are shown separately, inpractice, the functionality of multiple devices may be performed by asingle device, or the functionality of one device may be performed bymultiple devices. Further, multiple ones of the illustrated networks maybe included in a single network, or a particular network may includemultiple networks. Further, while some devices are shown ascommunicating with a network, some such devices may be incorporated, inwhole or in part, as a part of the network.

To the extent the aforementioned implementations collect, store, oremploy personal information of individuals, groups or other entities, itshould be understood that such information shall be used in accordancewith all applicable laws concerning protection of personal information.Additionally, the collection, storage, and use of such information canbe subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example,through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as can be appropriatefor the situation and type of information. Storage and use of personalinformation can be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of thetype of information, for example, through various access control,encryption and anonymization techniques for particularly sensitiveinformation.

No element, act, or instruction used in the present application shouldbe construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described assuch. An instance of the use of the term “and,” as used herein, does notnecessarily preclude the interpretation that the phrase “and/or” wasintended in that instance. Similarly, an instance of the use of the term“or,” as used herein, does not necessarily preclude the interpretationthat the phrase “and/or” was intended in that instance. Also, as usedherein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items, andmay be used interchangeably with the phrase “one or more.” Where onlyone item is intended, the terms “one,” “single,” “only,” or similarlanguage is used. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean“based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, comprising: one or more processorsconfigured to: determine an occurrence of a particular event; select,based on the occurrence of event, a particular User Equipment (“UE”) outof a plurality of candidate UEs; associate, based on determining theoccurrence of the particular event, the particular UE with a particularcategory, wherein associating the particular UE includes notifying oneor more devices of a wireless network that the particular UE has beenassociated with the particular category; identify one or more networkelements of a radio access network (“RAN”) of the wireless network towhich the particular UE is connected, wherein the one or more networkelements of the RAN determine that the particular UE is associated withthe particular category based on the one or more devices of the wirelessnetwork being notified that the particular UE has been associated withthe particular category, wherein the one or more network elementsimplement a first radio frequency (“RF”) resource allocation thatincludes: allocating a first set of radio frequency (“RF”) resources toUEs associated with the particular category, and allocating a second setof RF resources to UEs that are not associated with the particularcategory; and output, to the one or more network elements and furtherbased on determining the occurrence of the particular event, aninstruction to implement a modified RF resource allocation, whereinbased on receiving the instruction, the one or more network elementsimplement a second RF resource allocation that includes: allocating athird set of RF resources to UEs associated with the particularcategory, including the particular UE, wherein the third set of RFresources is a different amount of resources than the first set of RFresources, and allocating a fourth set of RF resources to UEs that arenot associated with the particular category, wherein the fourth set ofRF resources is a different amount of resources than the second set ofRF resources.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to: determine, after outputting theinstruction to the one or more network elements to implement modify themodified RF resource allocation, that the particular event has ended;and remove, based on the determination that the particular event hasended, the association of the particular UE with the particularcategory.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein removing the association ofthe particular UE with the particular category causes the one or morenetwork elements to cease granting RF resources, allocated to theparticular category, to the particular UE.
 4. The device of claim 1,wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine,after outputting the instruction to the one or more network elements toimplement the modified RF resource allocation, that the particular eventhas ended; and instruct the one or more network elements to revert,based on the determination that the particular event has ended, themodification of the RF resource allocation associated with theparticular category.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the first set ofRF resources associated with the particular category, prior to themodification, includes fewer RF resources associated with the particularcategory than the third set of RF resources associated with theparticular category.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the particularcategory is associated with at least one of: a particular Quality ofService (“QoS”) Class Identifier (“QCI”), or a particular QoS FlowIdentifier (“QFI”).
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to: determine an amount of usageassociated with the particular UE, wherein the modified RF resourceallocation associated with the particular category is based on thedetermined amount of usage associated with the particular UE.
 8. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium, storing a plurality ofprocessor-executable instructions to: determine an occurrence of aparticular event; select, based on the occurrence of event, a particularUser Equipment (“UE”) out of a plurality of candidate UEs; associate,based on determining the occurrence of the particular event, theparticular UE with a particular category, wherein associating theparticular UE includes notifying one or more devices of a wirelessnetwork that the particular UE has been associated with the particularcategory; identify one or more network elements of a radio accessnetwork (“RAN”) of the wireless network to which the particular UE isconnected, wherein the one or more network elements of the RAN determinethat the particular UE is associated with the particular category basedon the one or more devices of the wireless network being notified thatthe particular UE has been associated with the particular category,wherein the one or more network elements implement a first radiofrequency (“RF”) resource allocation that includes: allocating a firstset of radio frequency (“RF”) resources to UEs associated with theparticular category, and allocating a second set of RF resources to UEsthat are not associated with the particular category; and output, to theone or more network elements and further based on determining theoccurrence of the particular event, an instruction to implement amodified RF resource allocation, wherein based on receiving theinstruction, the one or more network elements implement a second RFresource allocation that includes: allocating a third set of RFresources to UEs associated with the particular category, including theparticular UE, wherein the third set of RF resources is a differentamount of resources than the first set of RF resources, and allocating afourth set of RF resources to UEs that are not associated with theparticular category, wherein the fourth set of RF resources is adifferent amount of resources than the second set of RF resources. 9.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein theplurality of processor-executable instructions further includeprocessor-executable instructions to: determine, after outputting theinstruction to the one or more network elements to implement themodified RF resource allocation, that the particular event has ended;and remove, based on the determination that the particular event hasended, the association of the particular UE with the particularcategory.
 10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9,wherein removing the association of the particular UE with theparticular category causes the one or more network elements to ceasegranting RF resources, allocated to the particular category, to theparticular UE.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim8, wherein the plurality of processor-executable instructions furtherinclude processor-executable instructions to: determine, afteroutputting the instruction to the one or more network elements toimplement the modified RF resource allocation, that the particular eventhas ended; and instruct the one or more network elements to revert,based on the determination that the particular event has ended, themodification of the RF resource allocation associated with theparticular category.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the first set of RF resources associated with theparticular category, prior to the modification, includes fewer RFresources associated with the particular category than the third set ofRF resources associated with the particular category.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein theparticular category is associated with at least one of: a particularQuality of Service (“QoS”) Class Identifier (“QCI”), or a particular QoSFlow Identifier (“QFI”).
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 8, wherein the plurality of processor-executable instructionsfurther include processor-executable instructions to: determine anamount of usage associated with the particular UE, wherein the modifiedRF resource allocation associated with the particular category is basedon the determined amount of usage associated with the particular UE. 15.A method, comprising: determining an occurrence of a particular event;selecting, based on the occurrence of event, a particular User Equipment(“UE”) out of a plurality of candidate UEs; associating, based ondetermining the occurrence of the particular event, the particular UEwith a particular category, wherein associating the particular UEincludes notifying one or more devices of a wireless network that theparticular UE has been associated with the particular category;identifying one or more network elements of a radio access network(“RAN”) of the wireless network to which the particular UE is connected,wherein the one or more network elements of the RAN determine that theparticular UE is associated with the particular category based on theone or more devices of the wireless network being notified that theparticular UE has been associated with the particular category, whereinthe one or more network elements implement a first radio frequency(“RF”) resource allocation that includes: allocating a first set ofradio frequency (“RF”) resources to UEs associated with the particularcategory, and allocating a second set of RF resources to UEs that arenot associated with the particular category; and outputting, to the oneor more network elements and further based on determining the occurrenceof the particular event, an instruction to implement a modified RFresource allocation, wherein based on receiving the instruction, the oneor more network elements implement a second RF resource allocation thatincludes: allocating a third set of RF resources to UEs associated withthe particular category, including the particular UE, wherein the thirdset of RF resources is a different amount of resources than the firstset of RF resources, and allocating a fourth set of RF resources to UEsthat are not associated with the particular category, wherein the fourthset of RF resources is a different amount of resources than the secondset of RF resources.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:determining, after outputting the instruction to the one or more networkelements to implement the modified RF resource allocation, that theparticular event has ended; and removing, based on the determinationthat the particular event has ended, the association of the particularUE with the particular category, wherein removing the association of theparticular UE with the particular category causes the one or morenetwork elements to cease granting RF resources, allocated to theparticular category, to the particular UE.
 17. The method of claim 15,further comprising: determining, after outputting the instruction to theone or more network elements to implement the modified RF resourceallocation, that the particular event has ended; and instructing the oneor more network elements to revert, based on the determination that theparticular event has ended, the modification of the RF resourceallocation associated with the particular category.
 18. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the first set of RF resources associated with theparticular category, prior to the modification, includes fewer RFresources associated with the particular category than the third set ofRF resources associated with the particular category.
 19. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the particular category is associated with at leastone of: a particular Quality of Service (“QoS”) Class Identifier(“QCI”), or a particular QoS Flow Identifier (“QFI”).
 20. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising: determining an amount of usage associatedwith the particular UE, wherein the modified RF resource allocationassociated with the particular category is based on the determinedamount of usage associated with the particular UE.